Lutsen Ski Trip- Caribou Highlands

We took a ski trip for a long weekend to Lutsen Mountains.  We had a blast and enjoyed ski-in/ ski-out location.  It is a 4 hour drive from Minneapolis but we stopped in Duluth for a night so we could hit the slopes early in the morning.  We stayed at the Fairfield Duluth Waterfront which had a great breakfast, pool, and fitness center.  The location is across the bridge so not a lot that is immediately walkable in the area.

Tips: 

1. Buy lift tickets ahead of time.  The best is in the Fall they will have a buy 1 get one 1 free sale.  The tickets are very expensive so this will save you hundreds of dollars.

2. Stay on the hill.  The convenience was amazing and there was a shuttle that would take you to the hill and back if you don't want to ski in/out

3. Sign up for lessons.  My 7 year old loved the Rangers program and did 2 hour lessons each day which allowed us to ski on our own or relax :)

4. Arrive early- if you aren't staying on site parking fills up quickly.  We were able to get a parking spot in the upper parking area if you arrive 15 minutes BEFORE the lifts open.

5. Take the Gondola Up.  Even if you don't want to ski Moose Mountain the views are incredible from the top of the gondola.

HOTEL: 3/5 We stayed in the Alpine Elite Condos at Caribou Highlands.  These were great for our crew because included a full kitchen, 2 bathrooms, living area with wood burning fireplace, balcony, and loft with 2 twin beds and a separate bedroom with a queen bed.  It was a classic cabin experience.  The heating and cooling was a little hard to control but was overall fine and the hot water in one of the bathrooms was scalding hot and you could not turn the temperature down.

- I would recommend bringing your own shampoo/ conditioner/ hair dryer

- We cooked all of our meals and our unit 144C had tons of cooking supplies/ utensils

- They had free make your own waffles every morning near the lobby which was a big hit!

- The pool was 2 floors below us and had a VERY strong chlorine smell.

POOL: 1/5 Very crowded and very chorinated

ACTIVITES: 5/5- They had fun kid activities every day including a scavenger hunt (prize was a pot full of candy), a coloring contest (my daughter won 1st and 2nd place-- got 2 stuffed animals and candy), daily kid crafts including making bath bombs, shamrocks, leprechauns, and buttons.  

We also enjoyed ice skating and bonfires with s'mores!

SKIING: 5/5 we were able to walk up 20 feet to ski down to the bottom of Eagle Mountain; or take a longer path down to Moose Mountain.  They also had a shuttle on demand to go to Uler Mountain.

LESSONS: My daughter loved the group lessons but the individual lessons looked great too!

FOOD: 3/5 We enjoyed some food at Moguls and the main chalet, as well as the chalet at Moose Mountain.  We also cooked our own food in the condo.  









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